The recession is all in your head

Worried about the economy? Concerned about your job, and whether you’ll still have it next year (or next month)? Frustrated by the constantly rising cost of living and your stagnant paycheck? Don’t be – Phil Gramm has the perfect solution. Just think happy thoughts and stop whining.

“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline.”

This is the latest in a string of unconscionably clueless, insensitive and increasingly idiotic statements being made by advisors and members of the McCain campaign as the season gets into full swing. McCain, of course, is attempting to distance himself from the statement, but not from the person who made it, which would be the more prudent course of action.

Here’s the latest sorry excuse:

“Phil Gramm’s comments are not representative of John McCain’s views,” read a campaign statement. “John McCain travels the country every day talking to Americans who are hurting, feeling pain at the pump and worrying about how they’ll pay their mortgage. That’s why he has a realistic plan to deliver immediate relief at the gas pump, grow our economy and put Americans back to work.”

Of course, this is all whitewash to cover up the undeniable fact that McCain does not, in fact, actually understand how the average person is suffering today. Phil Gramm, for his part, continues to stand by his statement:

“Look, the economy is bad. It is far below what we Americans have a right to expect, but we are not in a recession,” he said. “We may or may not have one in the future, but based on the data we are not in a recession. But that does not mean all this talk does not have a psychological impact.”

So now he’s an amateur psychologist, as well as being a professional prat. So we’re not in a recession yet? What does he think will it take for this unhappy event to actually happen? Perhaps he should re-examine the data. Nearly half a million jobs have been lost since the beginning of the year, and that doesn’t account for the job-seekers who simply gave up and fell off the books. Real wages (middle-class, not CEO salaries) have been stagnant or in decline since Bush took office. The cost of living skyrocketing, the stock market continues to lose hundreds of points on a daily basis.

If we’re not in a recession now, what the fuck is going on? When does this half-wit think we will be in a recession, on January 22, 2009 after Obama takes the Oath of Office?

So remember, folks. Next time you pull up to the gas station, ask the attendant if you can pay the prices you imagine they should be. If you lose your job, just keep going back to work. When you have to choose between heating your home and paying your mortgage this winter, don’t worry! It’s all in your imagination. It’s not really happening.

At least, not in Phil Gramm’s world. Don’t tell him about it, you whiner.